


Dual Missions

by iwasnthere622



Series: Wolves vs Berserkers [22]
Category: Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Angst, Berserkers, Blood, Blood and Injury, F/F, F/M, Gang War, Gangs, Gen, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, Hacking, Inury, Knives, M/M, Multi, Post-Apocalypse, Shooting, Solider - Freeform, Wolves, shot, tear gas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-06-18
Packaged: 2018-11-15 18:44:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11236974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwasnthere622/pseuds/iwasnthere622
Summary: "Two blocks," Ax whispered softly, eyes and ears straining as they moved cautiously along the tunnels. They'd have to surface in two blocks, and the danger would really begin then.Rox nodded, squeezing Ax's hand but saying nothing, trying to watch their backs and their fronts as they moved, his heart starting to pound in his chest.--Yuffie shoved Hayner into the wall at the hidden exit. "Listen up, you better not screw this up out there," she threatened. "I will leave you for dead if it'll save me."Hayner glared at her, blushing. "I know!" he snapped.





	Dual Missions

"I don't like this," Cloud said, watching Ax and Rox pack up their gear.

"Nobody likes this," Ax said, taking the aerosol canisters Kairi handed him and carefully tucking them into the outter pouches of his backpack.

"At least let me go with you," Fang protested.

"Nope," Rox said, popping the 'p' and triple checking his gear.

"But you could get attacked!" Fang protested.

"We won't," Rox said simply.

"You can't know that," Fang said. "Look at what happened--"

"Exactly," Ax cut her off. "You need to protect them," he waved his hand at the rest of the team, "while Terra heals up. Rox and I are quick on our feet, we'll be in and out with no one the wiser."

Fang frowned, really not liking this.

Tifa squeezed Fang's shoulder. "We need to get into their information systems, and Roxas needs to get close to try."

"Whoever their hacker is, he is fucking good," Rox grumbled, tugging the backpack up onto his shoulders. "Zex and I can't get in from here -- I might not even get in right on top of them, but it's the only thing left to try. It's like they studied us, and blocked our equipment levels specifically. if I can get closer to the original signals, I can piggyback them and hopefully trick the system into thinking I'm part of it instead of an intruder."

"You're risking your lives for a long shot," Fang said, upset.

Ax winked at her. "Well, yeah. We're Wolves, you know?"

Rox rolled his eyes, reaching out to thread his fingers with Ax's, squeezing his hand. "We'll be quick," he promised.

Zex nodded. "They should know pretty fast if this works or not."

"What if the other side detects you trying to get into their system?" Cid asked, eyes narrowed.

Rox and Ax shared a look and shrugged. "Run like hell?"

Cid dragged his hand over his face, giving Tifa a long look. This was a terrible plan...

Olette and Kairi double checked their bags and weapons for easy access, both talking over the other to give last minute tips and reminders.

"Slice away from your body, in a swinging arc--"

"Don't shake the cans, just press the tab--"

"If you kick, aim higher than the target to really put your body's force into it--"

"Flares blind just as good, and you can ignite on the run on the ruins--"

"Eyes are grapes, pop 'em--"

"Watch for my c4 piping out there, you remember the locations, just--"

"You know the area better, running is better--"

"Okay!" Ax shouted a bit. "I think we're good."

Kairi and Olette shared a look. "Be careful," the pyrotechnic said.

"Be quick," Olette ordered with a nod.

Rox nodded back. "Yes'm."

Tifa offered the pair a small smile. "We're counting on you. If it gets too dangerous, get out of there and we'll try again another night."

Ax and Rox nodded. Still holding hands, they made their way out, everyone watching until they slipped out into the underground tunnels and headed for the city.

Barret tugged Tifa into a sidehug, knowing she was worried -- he was, too -- but also knowing this was their only shot. If Rox couldn't crack this other hacker, they would be sitting ducks. They were outgunned and Terra's injury only proved that they wouldn't survive a direct assault.

\--

"I don't like this," Leon said, arms crossed, glaring at the lot of them from his position leaning against the wall.

"No one asked you," Yuffie said, packing throwing stars into her pack.

"They're going to get killed," Leon told Reno, voice flat. Larx and Rude were ambushed and killed to get out, and he wanted to send in Yuffie and his goddamn useless _pet_?

"They'll be fine," Reno said, waving a hand. "In and out."

"That's what she said," Xigbar snorted.

"I still think I should be going," Marluxia grumbled, clutching his equipment, loathe to give it to _Hayner_ of all people.

"No," Reno said.

"But-"

"We need you here," Reno said, tone allowing no argument.

"See, you think they'll get killed, too!" Aqua protested. "If this is an in and out mission, I should go, I--"

"No, dammit," Reno said, glaring at her. "You're our only thief -- when supplies run out, we'll need you to nick new ones. And Marly's the only one half-way competent with the eletronic crap -- if SOLDIER is wired to the brim, we'll need him."

"Hey!" Ven said in protest. He was good with the electronics, too!

"They should take backup," Rude said, not liking sending them alone without a hitter.

Reno pinched his nose. "Why is it, on any other mission, you all whine and bitch, but now all of a sudden, everyone wants to volunteer?" he demanded.

"This one matters," Riku said quietly, sitting at the table. He was still on the pale side, and couldn't walk around much without wearing himself out, but he was getting there.

"We should go," Sora said, holding hands with Namine.

Namine nodded. "They got the drop on us, we should repay the favor."

Leon shook his head, eyeing Reno because this, this charisma, this ability to pull together this rag tag group of adolescent criminals and make them fight for him -- die for him -- was the exact reason why Reno was terrifying.

Reno looked around the room, meeting each of their eyes. "Look... while the team spirit is inspiring, really," he smirked, "Yuffie and Hayner are going."

He held up his hand to stop the protests and curses. "Yuffie is cunning and ruthless, she'll get in and out, get the job done, and get some information while she's at it."

"Obviously," Yuffie snarked, slamming things into her pack, feeling like they were second-guessing her abilities by voluneering themselves.

"Look, Reno, no one is protesting sending Yuffie. She will cut up anyone in the way, we know that," Xigbar said, winking at his favorite psychopathic torturer.

"Then what's the problem," Reno said, knowing what the problem was and daring them to say it, watching Hayner squirming throughout all of this and thoroughly enjoying it.

"You're sending him!" Sora said, pointing at Hayner, who hunched in on himself even more at the sudden attention, bright red and wishing the floor would swallow him whole.

"He's a liabilty," Namine said.

"He's a _dog_ , he'll fuck this up and get Yuffie killed," Riku said, glaring at him.

"So you don't want to send him because he's expendable?" Reno asked, raising an eyebrow at the dubious logic.

"He's a giant fuck up," Marluxia said with disgust. "He got caught and watched his entire life die around him -- you killed his lover right in front of him! -- and he just let himself become your pet! He has no spine, he'll run once you let him out, or worse, get caught by them and spill all our secrets!"

"Mm, I see -- you don't care if he dies, you're more concerned with what he'll do if he lives," Reno said. "Yuffie, how do you feel about that?"

Yuffie straigthened from packing, looking around the room at each of them. "We've sent him out before," she answered after a pause, "and he's always done as told. He's broken. He's ours."

"He's a spineless coward, you mean," Sora said, disgusted. "What if you get attacked out there? He could leave you for dead!"

"And have you all kill him when he comes back?" Yuffie asked, shaking her head. "Even Pet isn't that stupid."

"He could just not come back," Riku pointed out.

Reno shook his head at that one. "And go where? To the _Wolves_? Even if he could find them, even Tifa wouldn't take in a stray from another gang, not during a crisis like this. No, Hayner knows he's safest if he stays with us."

Yuffie nodded in agreement, shouldering her pack.

Leon rolled his eyes. "Bad idea," he muttered. "He's still a liability out there."

"Well, we just have to give dearest Hayner a chance to prove himself, don't we," Reno said with a grin. "Any further objections?"

Everyone grumbled or cursed, threats hurled at Hayner as accurately as throwing knives, but no one questioned the assignment again.

"Good. Yuf, you ready?" Reno asked.

Yuffie shrugged her pack to test the weight. "Yeah, we'll get in, plant the bug, and get out."

Reno nodded. "You know what to do, Pet?"

Hayner nodded, picking up his own pack and wincing when Marluxia shoved his device into his hands, gripping it tight so as not to drop it.

"Plant it within 100 yards of the mayor's office and press this button," he growled, still not liking this plan but there was nothing he could do about it. "It'll attack on it's own and send me data here if it gets any."

"It will," Ven said, having worked just as hard on it as Marluxia had.

"Good luck," Reno said, stepping away from the doorway so they could leave.

Yuffie huffed out a laugh. "Don't belive in luck," she grinned, walking out and expecting Hayner to follow her, not disappointed when she heard his shuffling steps after her.

"We'll be back before any of you assholes can miss me!" she called out, cackling at the curses and shouts after them.

\--

"Two blocks," Ax whispered softly, eyes and ears straining as they moved cautiously along the tunnels. They'd have to surface in two blocks, and the danger would really begin then.

Rox nodded, squeezing Ax's hand but saying nothing, trying to watch their backs and their fronts as they moved, his heart starting to pound in his chest.

This was probably the craziest thing he'd ever done, which was saying something, and he was wishing they'd brought some muscle with them after all.

Ax squeezed back, his own heart picking up a bit the closer they got to the sloping hatch that would let them out within 100 yards of the mayor's building. They were hoping that would be close enough for Rox to work his magic, but they wouldn't know until they tried.

They made it to the hatch a few minutes later, turning to look at each other in silence before nodding slightly.

Rox tugged Ax down into a firm kiss before going first, cautiously emerging onto the street and rushing to the shadows of the nearby bulding for cover, the night sky clear enough that they didn't need any additional light that could give them away.

Ax joined his boyfriend in the shadows, both still and quiet, but as the minutes passed and nothing happened, they relaxed a bit.

They quietly moved forward, keeping hidden as much as possible, watching for Kairi's boobytraps and manuvering around rubble and questionable piles until they were in position.

Rox slowly crouched and opened his backpack, pulling out his portable hacking device and flipping it out, wincing at the screens brightness in the dark and tucking it as close to his chest as he could.

Ax stood watch, tense as the seconds ticked by, acutely aware of the faint tapping of Rox's fingers flying over keys, willing the blonde to hurry the fuck up.

Rox cut the display power after a frustrating 15 minutes, standing and shaking his head. They needed to get closer.

Ax winced, resisting the urge to curse out loud and instead reaching for Rox's hand again, nodding and moving forward.

The pair hardly dared to breathe as they snuck closer to the town center, crouching in an alley directly across from the mayor's building, both of them freezing when a shadow exited the building and walked into the square.

The figure walked off in the opposite direction, and they marginally relaxed, Ax nodding at Rox to get to work.

Rox pulled out his device again, tapping slowly to keep sound down, targeting the source inside the building and trying to piggyback the signal inside.

Ax tipped the display to Rox's chest to cut the light when another person walked out of the building, ignoring Rox's glare, heart pounding as the figure headed in their direction.

Rox's hands were sweating, frozen with Ax, leg cramping, watching the shadow get closer and closer...

His device beeped softly to signal that it made it inside and the shadow froze.

Rox's heart dropped to his stomach, squeezing tightly to Ax, not breathing, feeling like his heart was beating loudly enough that surely the figure could hear it, hear them, they were going to die, he was going to get Ax killed and it'd be his fault...

The figure slowly began to move off and the relief made Ax's head spin, grinning at Rox.

Rox slumped into Ax, peaking at the display and initiating the data dump back to headquarters. Now that he was in, the bug would siphon the data without him and they could get the hell outta dodge.

He nodded at Ax and they stood cautiously, looking all around before starting to retrace their steps, just exiting the alley and hugging the nearby building.

"Hey! Who's there?" a voice demanded.

Ax and Rox shared a panicked-filled look before bolting.

\--

Yuffie shoved Hayner into the wall at the hidden exit. "Listen up, you better not screw this up out there," she threatened. "I will leave you for dead if it'll save me."

Hayner glared at her, blushing. "I know!" he snapped.

"Good," Yuffie nodded once, petting his hair. "Just do as you're told and we'll be able to get rid of these invaders and get back to life as normal."

"Right," Hayner huffed. Like normal life was so great for him? He really actually hated Seifer for leaving him to this shit hole of a life.

Yuffie just nodded and put a finger to her lips in warning to be quiet before opening the door and peering out, unsurprised to find the area empty. They were safe at the outskirts -- for now, anyway -- while the enemy worked to solidify its hold on the center.

Reno was right in that they didn't have much time -- they needed to stop them before they learned the town well enough to send a search party for them and take them out. They had some fighters, sure, but they couldn't last, not against a trained army.

She reached back to tug Hayner out with her, covering up the entrance and nodding at him so he'd follow her, taking off to the north first to try to come around at the town from a different direction -- Rude said that the ones that'd caught him and Larx knew they were Berserkers just from virtue of them coming from the east, so if they came from the north it might be a bit easier to get in undetected.

Of course, if Yuffie had planned it, she'd have every entrance monitored regardless of directional, but they had to work with what they had in this crap situation.

She crept along the ruins, careful of the c4 lining she spotted now and then, rolling her eyes a bit at the Wolf traps that spanned in this area, already having been a little amused by them -- who were they for, way out here? The spiders?

Hayner stumbled on a loose rubble pile, rocks kicking up, flinching when Yuffie whirled on him and glared as they both tensed and froze to see if anyone had heard the noise.

When no one popped up to kill them, Yuffie relaxed marginally, punching Hayner hard in the arm and glaring, watching him bite his lip to keep silent. Moron.

Hayner ducked his head, lip bleeding and arm throbbing, angry tears pricking his eyes as he started after Yuffie again, watching his footing extra well now, hyper aware of his own movements, knowing full well that she would throw him to the enemy to save herself if it came down to that, and that she'd be just as likely to kill him so he couldn't spill any secrets if they were both caught.

He was dependent on her, and he hated it.

They moved along slowly, Yuffie slowing them down even more the closer they got, watching rooftops for snipers even as she tracked the movements on the ground -- the strays even seemed to be cowed, not seeing nearly as many dogs as she knew had been here before.

Her grip on her pack tightened at the thought of these monsters killing the poor animals, mouth set in a thin line and eyes flaring with anger at the thought.

Hayner crouched behind Yuffie when she stopped at the edge of the ruins as they hit the town, knowing they were only blocks from the square now and that their danger would only increase going forward.

Yuffie gestured at his pack and he opened it slowly and carefully, taking out Marluxia's device. He checked the range, but the light was lit faintly red, so he shook his head at her. Not close enough.

Yuffie frowned but nodded to show she understood, standing carefully. She stepped out only to backpedal into Hayner, who rocked backwards with her sudden weight but managed to keep them both standing in the shadows.

Yuffie held Hayner tightly in place, heart picking up a bit as a figure move closer to them, someone clearly on patrol judging by the body language and brisk movements.

She pressed Hayner back into the building harshly, keeping them both in the deepest part of the shadows and holding her breath, thankful they were at least doing this at night -- hopefully the added cover would be enough.

Hayner closed his eyes, unable to watch as the man got closer to them, feeling Yuffie relax minutely and blinking his eyes open to watch the guard move past them on his route.

Gaia this was insane...

Once the lookout was far enough away, Yuffie tugged Hayner away from the building. They darted across the open street to the alley diagonal of their location, ducking for cover there and waiting.

They moved slowly like that, Yuffie making them wait a full 10 minutes at each new location, seeming to judge when it was safe by the placement of the stars for all that Hayner saw a difference in anything else around them, until they were crouched at the building next to the mayor's office, peering around the corner to look at the building.

Yuffie made sure to take note of everything she saw -- three on rotation, one at the door, one in the back alley, one on the roof, lights in the building -- not able to get accurate numbers of the total number of them or even a great look at their physical descriptions but _something_ was better than the whopping nothing that they currently knew.

She nodded at Hayner to try the device again, both of them relieved to see the range icon lit up green.

Hayner pressed the button as he'd been told, watching code fill up the screen and assuming that was that, handing the device to Yuffie with a nod.

Yuffie took it carefully, looking around before carefully working at the crumbling facade of the building. She took out a knife and passed the device back to Hayner briefly, using the weapon to work a lose brick free of the building, the scrapping noise deafening as she worked carefully and quickly. She set the brick down silently onto the ground and reached back for the device, taking it from Hayner and slipping it into the hole in the building now, making sure to tuck it securely in its place, glancing at the display to make sure it was still working.

Hardest part was over, now they just had to get back.

Yuffie turned to signal Hayner back, the heel of her foot catching on the side of the brick she'd set down, causing her to stumble froward into Hayner and the brick to skitter across the pavement.

They both froze, Hayner's hands on Yuffie's arms to steady her, staring at each other wide-eyed.

"Hey, you hear that?" one of the men demanded.

"Go!" Yuffie hissed, shoving Hayner towards the back of the building, running right behind him.

\--

Tidus fired his weapon as he started to run after the two figures clearly fleeing the center. "Yazoo!" he yelled, firing again but missing, not that great at hitting a moving target.

"Fuck!" Ax cursed, ducking the rubble spray from the bullets hitting the nearby buildings, hand tight on Rox's as they ran.

"Stop!" Tidus yelled, pushing himself to go faster, hearing shouting faintly and wondering if headquarters was under attack? Was it the Wolves or the Berserkers?

"Keep on them, I'll cut them off!" Yazoo said, pulling up to Tidus on his bike before revving the engine and turning off to get ahead and block the path of these two.

Tidus grinned, feet pounding on the pavement, saving his bullets for when they caught them.

Rox was already panicking and it only ricocheted higher when the gunfire stopped and an engine revved behind them. "What do we do?!" he asked Ax, seeing no way out and not wanting to die.

"Keep going," Ax said firmly, panting as he pushed himself faster, pulling Rox with him. He was scared of what the cease fire meant, but the engine sounds worried him more. If they got cut off or their path blocked, they'd be sitting ducks for the one behind them to have a clear shot... which was probably why he was saving his ammo now. Dammit.

He looked around for an out, relying on his mental map of the city, tugging Rox to turn sharply and head down a side street, hoping they could make it out of this, or he could at least buy enough time for Rox to get back safe.

Rox pushed hard to keep up with Ax -- damn those long legs of his! -- lungs burning as they ran. He had the same mental map of the city as Ax did, so when they took another sharp turn, he flung his free hand out blindly to claw at the building side as they ran, tugging at wiring he pulled up and not slowing down in speed in the least, grinning at the small explosion that went off behind them, rocks nicking the backs of his legs but oh, the curses was music to his ears.

Ax grinned as Rox triggered some of Kairi's c4, hoping fiercely it maimed or killed the guy following them but not daring to slow enough to look back, running.

Tidus was thrown to the side, his momentum crashing him into the building side at the sudden explosion, cursing loudly. His face was scraped up and bleeding, one arm numb from taking the brunt of the blast. He picked up the gun he'd dropped and pushed himself forward, wondering where the hell Yazoo was already, looking extra forward to killing these rats.

Ax and Rox turned a corner and had to skid to a halt, wildly looking around for an out as the guy on the motorcycle grinned at them, gun in hand.

Yazoo grinned at the rats that were trapped now, gun arm steady. "Which filth do you belong to, hm?" he asked lazily, knowing Sephiroth would want to know so he couldn't kill them yet.

Rox panted hard, squeezing Ax's hand tight, glaring but staying silent, refusing to give in even when Ax's responding hand-squeeze made tears prick his eyes because he loved him so fucking much and they were going to _die_.

Yazoo made a show of cocking the gun, grinning. "No answer? Since you're fleeing this way and rats tend to run home, we'll go with Wolves," he mused, eyes glinting at their reactions, though they tried to hide them.

What? How could they... did they really know everything about them? Shit, Tifa and the others didn't stand a chance, all of their friends were going to die...

\--

Yuffie shoved Hayner ahead of her, running right behind him and shoving him to turn the direction she wanted, both of them ducking when an explosion could clearly be heard -- what the hell was going on?

"What the hell is going on?" Vincent growled, giving chase to their intruders and cursing when they made the corner turn before he could get a shot off, the explosion admittedly having startled him.

"Coordinated attack?" Xion suggested, having followed Vincent when he took off after the fleeing people.

Vincent just grunted and sped up, gun in each hand and ready to be used.

Yuffie pushed herself faster, turning whenever she could and dragging Hayner after her, trying to make them meandering targets so that their pursures couldn't use their guns effectively.

Hayner was panting as he kept up with Yuffie, heart racing, scared out of his mind because his chances of surviving pretty much all of the scenarios of how this was going to end were slim to none.

"Keep on them," Vincent ordered after the fourth turn, heading straight himself, beginning to see the pattern to their panicked running.

Xion nodded and picked up her pace, breathing nice and even as she gave chase, taking the turns as fast as she could, managing to mostly keep them in her sights, though she had no confidence in being able to actually hit them, with the way they were weaving as they ran.

Yuffie and Hayner kept going, pushing themselves as they ran, Yuffie trying to think of a way out of this because if they all out ran straight to their tunnels, they'd reveal the base to this fools and get everyone killed. They needed to lose the tails, think dammit...!

She shouted, ducking and yanking Hayner to the side as their next turn put them level with a gunman, debris spraying them both.

Hayner yelled, Yuffie nearly yanking his arm out of its socket but the bullets flying were much more terrifying and a very real threat, a gunman suddenly on their heels. He glanced back and saw the another pursuer join him, bullets kicking up rocks at their heels.

Yuffie reached blindly to her pack, pulling out a handful of throwing stars. Making sure to keep her forward momentum, she half turned and threw two stars out, the shouts of surprise buying them precious seconds to regain their lead, taking another turn hard and crossing to the other side of the city this time, hoping to add to the distance between their pursuers and themselves.

Xion shouted and ducked, a flying star grazing her cheek as it flew past her and slicing a thin line into her skin that immediately stung and welled with blood.

Vincent cursed and knocked a star aside with one of his guns, eyes narrowing at the skill involved in the accuracy of those throws. It seemed their rats were no amaterus.

Yuffie held two more stars at the ready as they ran, turning the next corner and pausing just long enough to throw them behind her, urging Hayner to turn again quickly and then make a mad dash straight ahead -- it was a risk to run straight, but they'd gain speed and distance if they could pull it off, and she just hoped her stars gave them enough time to try.

Vincent knocked both stars out of the air this time with a growl, nodding at Xion to keep on them while he ran past the turn and ran straight, watching between the buildings, finding the fleeing pair and pushing to get on level with them.

Xion open fired when they ran straight out, but she was too far back to have much aim, giving up after a few rounds rather than waste the bullets.

Vincent took aim as he moved, waiting for Xion to give up her attempt, timing his speed, not yet, not yet... now! He shot between the buildings, three shots in rapid-fire, grinning viciously at the yell that followed. He'd hit something. He cut across to join up with Xion behind them.

Hayner yelled at the sudden bullets coming from the side of them, ducking with Yuffie but a bullet went right through his leg at his calf and he stumbled.

"Keep going!" Yuffie snarled, shouldering under his arm to help him keep moving forward.

Hayner bit his lip to keep moving forward, his leg burning, feeling warm blood trickling slowly. It felt like a through and through, or maybe that was just his wishful thinking, but that didn't make it hurt an less or any less inconvenient.

"Just go," he grit out, trying to keep up but knowing he was slowing Yuffie down, resigning himself to death.

Yuffie cursed at him but tightened her grip -- she'd fucking drag him if he had to, they were getting out of this!

Vincent grinned in victory at the pair slowing down, at the blood trail they were leaving. He lifted his guns to take aim again. He had them.

\--

Tidus stumbled up behind the pair of rats, pissed and bloody, raising his gun and firing.

Cloud jumped from his perch on the fire esacpe above the scene, landing and tackling Rox and Ax to the ground just as the blonde behind them fired, the bullet hitting the motorcycle and putting a hole in the gas tank, the smell harsh in the air as it flooded out.

"What the fuck?" Yazoo yelled, jumping off his bike to take cover only to realize it was fucking Tidus who shot at him.

"C'mon!" Cloud said, pulling Rox and Ax up and running.

"You hit the bike, asshole!" Yazoo yelled, realizing they'd have to give chase on foot now.

"They threw a bomb at me!" Tidus screeched, pissed and still panting a bit.

"Grow a pair, they're getting away!" Yazoo snapped, taking off after them.

"Cloud?!" Rox said, surprised as hell to see the blonde but so, so grateful.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Ax demanded.

"Later!" Cloud said, pushing them all to go faster when he heard footfalls behind them, running hard.

The three turned a corner and then Cloud yanked Rox and Ax to turn another -- he'd had a lot of practice running these streets thanks to Zack and the occasional Berserker.

He made then turn twice more until they were running _away_ from headquarters, hoping to throw their pursuers off for a few minutes, which was precious long in a chase.

Yazoo pushed himself faster, Tidus falling back and quickly getting lost. Damn, this newcomer was fucking good, they'd doubled back in the opposite direction, smart rats.

The sounds of their pursuers faded a bit and Cloud grinned, urging Rox and Ax down an alley. "C'mon, go!" he urged when they stopped at the fence blocking the way, cupping his hands to give Rox a boost.

Ax scrambled up the fence, jumping down the other side and catching Rox when Cloud boosted him over.

Cloud was quick to follow, landing just as their sole pursuer entered the alley.

Yazoo cursed and pulled his gun, firing.

"Go!" Cloud said, ducking and running with Rox and Ax, knowing the fence would buy them some time and grinning, heading them back in the right direction now.

Yazoo cursed, climbing the fence as fast as he could, knowing he was losing ground.

"He's still on us!" Ax panted a few minutes later, as they could sill hear Yazoo running after them.

Cloud frowned, not so much at that but at Rox and Ax both slowing down, clearly getting tired and not used to this much running, despite the adrenaline. He kept pace with them but knew they'd be caught at this rate, so instead of continuing, he looked around for Plan B.

He found it a block later, gripping one of their arms and tugging them to a quick halt, shoving them at the abandoned building on their left. "Inside," he whispered, shoving them to go between the borded slats over the entrance and following, moving them all into the corner to catch their breath and hopefully lose this last pursurer. He pulled out his own Kairi canister, noting Ax and Rox doing the same.

Ax tried to breathe quietly, arming himself and Rox when he saw Cloud doing the same, realizing he didn't give their thief enough credit, not after this rescue. If he actually pulled it off, Ax was going to kiss him.

Rox slowly caught his breath, a painful stitch at his side, hand gripping the canister tightly, wondering what the hell Cloud thought he was doing out here even as part of him realized he was only alive because this stupid kid had shown up at the last second.

Cloud strained his hearing, hearing Yazoo approaching the building and run right past it, raising a hand to keep Rox and Ax in place and shifting forward enough to peer outside between he slats. He saw a figure at the end of the road pause, clearly having lost them.

Yazoo cursed, looking around. They can't have just fucking disappeared. He glanced up at the buildings, remembering that the third one had come from the fire escape, but he couldn't make anything out along the buldings. He glanced behind himself, not seeing any places to have stopped back there, taking a gamble and heading left, towards he outskits of the town, hoping they'd gone this way. Dammit.

Cloud grinned when he watched the guy turn left, beckoning Ax and Rox over with a wave of his hand. He put a finger to his lips -- they weren't out of the woods yet -- and climbed out, Rox and Ax following him.

Cloud led them back a bit the way they'd come, the trio moving silently in shadows until they came to an entrance to the undergrond tunnels and Cloud let them in, quietly closing the door behind them and relaxing a little. They still weren't safe exactly, but it was a lot better now that they'd made it down here.

They started walking towards headquarters, only about a mile out.

"How'd you find us?" Rox asked.

"What're you doing out?" Ax added.

Cloud grinned at them. "Thanks, Cloud, for saving our sorry asses," he teased.

Rox grinned at him, sharing a look with Ax. "Thanks," they said together.

Cloud nodded, pleased. "You're welcome. I knew I should've went on this mission, or Zack -- you guys don't know how to run."

"Hey," Rox said, mildly offended even as his side ached. "Did you not see us running?"

Cloud chuckled. "So slow," he mocked, heart calming and adrenaline going down, relaxing the closer they got.

"All right, all right. You're awesome. Now, why're you here?" Ax said, grinning at him.

Cloud sighed. "I was worried," he admitted. "So I slipped out. Just to check the tunnels, but then I heard an explosion, so I went to check it out. Ended up in the alley just before that motorcycle guy got there -- I scaled the building to the escape figuring he'd just drive past but then he stopped and seemed to be waiting and I just knew something had happened."

Rox grinned up a Ax. "We'll have to tell Kairi she saved our asses, too."

"So the explosion was you?" Cloud confirmed.

Ax nodded. "Yeah. We got spotted near the town center, were trying to run for it when Rox tripped one of the c4 traps to buy us some time."

"That's what wounded the other one," Cloud said, piecing it together.

Rox nodded. "Yeah, but that other dude totally wold have killed us if you hadn't saved us," he admitted.

Cloud nodded soberly. "Glad to help," he said seriously. "I mean it, I'm glad you guys are okay."

"Yeah, me too," Ax sighed, tugging Rox closer to him. His adrenaline was starting to crash and he was feeling a little shaky, definitely going to need life reaffirming sex and plenty of Roxas cuddles after this ordeal.

"But we got the data," Rox said, trying to look on the bright side, at least until they were safe in their room and he could freak out in private. "At least, I got a bug digging for it."

"That's great!" Cloud grinned, slowing down as they reached their new headquarters entrance.

"Thanks, Cloud," Rox sid, pulling him into a hug before he could open the door.

Cloud was a little surprised, but returned the hug easily enough.

"Thanks," Ax repeated quietly, cupping Cloud's face when Rox let go and planting a nice smacker on him.

Cloud blushed bright red and shoved Ax away, wiping his mouth as Rox and Ax grinned at each other.

"...don't mention it," he said, opening the door and heading inside with the pair to report to Tifa and the others.

\--

Leon stepped out in front of Yuffie and Hay. "Down," he ordered, firing over them as soon as they dropped.

Vincent cursed and dove one way, Xion falling the other. They both moved to take cover, unable to return fire as this one man kept them both pinned.

"Go, down the alley," Leon ordered the pair on the ground, keeping up a steady stream of fire even as he moved after them, never turning his back to their attackers once.

Yuffie cursed colorfully when Squall showed up, but she dragged Hayner away when ordered to, letting him call the shots, saving her questions for later.

Hayner grit his teeth and pushed himself to keep moving, not understanding why Yuffie was still dragging him with her when she could just kill him herself and get away easier and faster, trying to move faster so as to keep her from changing her mind.

They made it to the end of the alley before Squall was sprinting after them, nodding to the left so that was the way they turned.

Leon shouldered up under Hayner's other arm, helping Yuffie support his weight, the three of them moving faster now because of him.

"What now?" Yuffie asked. She had a few stars left, some throwing knives, and one smoke bomb.

"Keep moving," Leon said firmly, tugging them around another turn, hearing footfalls of pursuit and looking around, they needed to shake them so they could get back, think, what could they do...

He ducked instinctly when the footfalls reached the corner just as they themselves were turning another, firing two shots behind them, satisfied at the cursing.

"Go ahead, try to cut them off," Vincent ordered Xion after a few minutes of pursuit -- the new person was good at keeping them back enough to not have any good shots, but they couldn't run forever, not with a wounded companion and not without leading them right to their hidey hole.

Xion nodded once and ran ahead, moving straight and straining her ears to try to get far enough ahead to cut them off.

Leon swapped out clips as they ran, dropping the empties to the ground -- useless, anyway. "What've you got?" he asked Yuffie, since he was down to his last magazines now.

"Two stars, four knives, smoke bomb," Yuffie said, the strain of carrying Hayner's weight making her pant and her heart race because they didn't have a chance of outrunning them like this.

"Dump me in the next alley," Hayner said, knowing he was slowing the pair of them down, not wanting to die but not seeing a choice -- he was going to get them all killed at this rate.

"Shut up," Leon and Yuffie said at the same time, pushing harder.

"You... hate me... anyway," Hayner panted, not understanding this sudden protection.

Leon ignored him, trying to think, an idea forming in the back of his mind when he cursed, shoving Hayner onto Yuffie and firing ahead of them just as the girl who was chasing them cut in front of their group.

Xion managed to get off a few rounds before she had to take cover, cursing because who the fuck was this guy, how'd he know she'd been coming.

Leon angled to shoot in front and behind at the same time, pinning the girl and man back.

Vincent cursed, taking cover. "I see now... You must be Squall," he called out over the gunfire. "The Boss would love to chat with you... with your reputation, you'd be an assest to us. Leave them to us, and you'll be spared."

Leon very nearly rolled his eyes, letting his fire answer for himself, not all that surprised to have been ID'ed -- he did have a reputation, after all, and he was sure his meeting with Saix would have been noted by now.

Berserkers, then, Xion noted, trying to get a good look at them now that they were stopped for the moment. And the one who'd rescused the others was _the_ Squall Leonhart?

Leon looked around for an out -- he could keep them pinned and give themselves another head start running, but that would put them back in the same situtation -- no, he wanted to end this, now. They were too well-trained to abandon their cover, there was no way he'd be able to kill both when they were pinned front and back like this.

He glanced upwards and grinned, turning to Yuffie. "Light it up," he said with a grin.

Yuffie stared at Squall a minute before she understood, letting go of Hayner and letting him wobble to a stand on his own, favoring his wounded leg, as she dug into her pack, hand closing around her smoke bomb.

She glanced up at Hayner and Squall and then pulled the pin, hurling the bomb straight up in the air, vicious, thick smoke pouring from it and blanketing the area.

Holding his breath and squinting his eyes, Leon got to work as soon as the bomb cannister clattered to the pavement, shoving Yuffie to the nearby fire escape and pointing up, watching her climb up before lifting Hayner easily and passing him up to her. He held up his hand -- stay -- and then took off down the alley.

Vincent and Xion both cursed, covering their faces as smoke filled the area. Xion coughed, having inhaled some, eyes watering, burying her face in her hands to wait it out.

Vincent pulled his bandana from around his neck and wrapped it over his face, hearing footfalls and taking over after them, firing blindly and cursing.

Leon took off at a fast sprint, not going full speed in order to keep up the illusion that he was still supporting Hayner and Yuffie, turning corners and running in circles, hoping that that combined with the smoke in the unfamiliar territory would confuse their pursuers.

Xion stood after it felt like she hacked up a lung, wiping at her eyes and face and peering blearily around as the smoke began to slowly thin, hearing Vincent firing and taking off in that direction.

Yuffie and Hayner kept their faces covered, sitting up in the fire escape and not daring the move an inch. The longer they were there, the itcher Yuffie got, wanting to jump down and run while they had the chance, but Squall had told them to wait so they would wait. It didn't mean she liked it, though.

Once Leon was able to confirm for himself that the other SOLIDER member had rejoined the chase, he poured on the speed, doubling back for the town, waiting until he could hear curses and grinning as he slipped beneath the city and into the tunnels. He quickly turned around and headed back to where he'd left Yuffie and Hayner, moving silently underground while Vincent and Xion ran in circles, having lost them.

Leon pulled himself back up topside and crossed an alley to stand below the fire escape, peering up at Yuffie and Hayner, the smoke completely dissipated now, though the smell still lingered in the air.

"Let's go," he said softly. Yuffie helped Hayner dangle down until Squall could steady him and then she jumped down herself.

"You kill them?" she asked softly, resuming walking with half of Hayner's weight.

Leon took Hayner's other side and got them moving, shaking his head. "No, just lost them. Not enough ammo to ambush and kill; besides, getting back is the priority."

Yuffie hummed and nodded, understanding that. The three of them moved quietly through the dark, leaving the town and moving along the outskirts, finally relaxing a bit.

"How'd you find us?" Yuffie asked.

Leon eyed her. "Figured something like this would happen. I heard shots and traced them to you."

"Did you hear the explosion, too?" Yuffie asked. "That wasn't us."

Leon raised an eyebrow. "Wolves must be out playing tonight, too," he mused quietly, worry for Cloud tugging at his heart.

"Mm," Yuffie hummed. "Still, we planted the device -- Marluxia should be able to get something now."

"Good," Leon said firmly, the three of them nearing one of the hidden entracnes of Reno's rebuilt tunnels.

"Why didn't you guys just leave me behind?" Hayner asked softly, leg aching with a burning pain, adrenaline crashing, emotionally exhausted and confused.

Leon glanced at Yuffie over his head but said nothing.

Yuffie caught Squall's look and huffed. "You may be just the pet, but you're ours."

Hayner blinked, looking up at her. What?

"You're a Berserker, asshole," Leon muttered. He'd known that Reno's games would be too much for this guy -- Reno always did like to haze the newbies, and for all his talk of keeping the enemy close and stock-holming Hayner, he'd become a Berserker the first time he'd gone out on assignment and _came back_.

Hayner felt like his whole world got twisted on its head, again, staring at the pair of them before chuckling humorlessly. "Right... right," he said, still laughing to himself. A Berserker, him. Right.

Leon rolled his eyes and pushed them faster, supporting Hayner enough for Yuffie to open the hidden door and shoving him inside after her, locking up himself. The things he put up with for Reno...


End file.
